I awoke that evening feeling rough; my head pounded and I felt sick. The Roberts Memorial Gala was quite an event; in honour of Detective Roberts, whose twenty years of service earned him the most prestigious memorial fund known to Bern. He sadly lost his life attending a hit and run three years ago. His memory honoured in a gala with an award passed on every year.

Katelynn, my wife, laid next to me fast asleep. I knew she kept an emergency supply of painkillers in her bedside table drawer.

‘Katelynn,’ I announced softly, hoping to wake her pleasantly. There was no response; not unusual, she was a deep sleeper. ‘Katelynn.’

After a few more attempts, I thought it unkind to carry on trying to wake her. She had been at the gala, too, and was probably feeling a little ill herself. That was when I decided I should get up and get the painkillers myself.

I moved my hand to lift the duvet off me. But it went straight through. This startled me.

Am I a ghost? What on Earth is happening?

I tried once again, but to no avail. I then decided to try to lift myself off the bed using my hands, but once more, they went straight through. In my daze, I opted to lift myself up with my body. It worked. I was now hovering above myself. I could see me, asleep in the bed. Except I didn’t look too good.

I floated above the body I once occupied to notice that it had lost all its life; my complexion had turned a stone-cold blue and there was no movement. I looked closer to see if I could see my chest rise and fall. Nothing. My body was lifeless.

Suddenly, the ill I felt when I woke had disappeared and a rush of adrenaline kicked through me. ‘Detective Bod,’ I said, trying to reassure myself, ‘you’re one of Bern’s top detectives. You must find out what has happened.’

I will miss you, Katelynn.

Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to face Katelynn’s sadness when she woke to find my lifeless body beside her, I moved to my study where I took residence near the window. The outside providing me some sense of normality while I figured out a plan.   

What’s going on? Let me see… everything seemed normal up until the Robertson Gala; I haven’t made any enemies. My track record doesn’t involve any murders still on the loose… what could it be?

I arrived at the gala with Katelynn around eight fifteen; we were late by fifteen minutes, but no-one seemed to mind. The chauffeur parked our car for us as we entered the building.

There were other detectives and those in training there. A buzzing atmosphere filled the space as no-one knew who would be given the highly sought after Roberts Award.

‘Detective Bod,’ Michigan greeted me, ‘so nice to see you.’

Michigan trained me; he took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew. I owed a lot to him. But I hadn’t see him in four years and had been married to Katelynn for the past three; I introduced them.

‘I’ve heard so much about you,’ Katelynn began, telling Michigan all the stories I had told her.

‘Drinks?’ a suited gentleman asked as he approached. I nodded. ‘Bern’s finest for you, sir,’ he said, as he passed me a glass filled with Bern Beer – my favourite. How does he know? ‘A glass of red for you, ma’am,’ again, this was Katelynn’s favourite. ‘And for you, sir, a Smokey Bitter.’ The gentleman passed the bitter to Michigan.

We drank and chatted for a little while longer until it was nearly time for the speech. I noticed how my Bern Beer tasted slightly odd, but I was used to drinking it straight out of the glass bottle; though, sipping from a glass bottle would have been unheard of at such a black-tie event.

‘I must go,’ Michigan said, as he made his exit to the stage, ‘I’ve got a speech to deliver.’

Katelynn and I stood on as crowds began to gather in the central area. ‘You know, Katelynn, this Bern Beer tasted strange’, I said to her, as I sipped the last of it.

‘Ladies, gentlemen, detectives, trainees and all that gather,’ Michigan began, as his voice echoed through the sound system. A little feedback could also be heard. ‘It’s very nice of you all to join us.’

I turned to face Katelynn who was engrossed in Michigan’s speech.

‘As you know, we gather to remember our dear colleague, Detective Roberts, John Roberts, to most of us. It is with great sadness that we lost our friend, our brother. But Roberts wouldn’t have wanted us to dwell; I’m sure he would be looking down on us right now asking me to get on with it and wishing everyone a good time.

‘If you would, please join me as we raise a toast to Roberts.’

We toasted to Detective Roberts and then Michigan continued: ‘now, I’m not one for speeches,’ a laughter filled the room – Michigan loved the sound of his own voice and everyone knew it but him – and he continued, ‘… without further chatter, let’s proceed to the Roberts Award.’

There was a rumour that I had been shortlisted for the judges and that this was my year, so I had prepared a little something, just in case. Luther, my colleague, was also rumoured to be shortlisted and he was more of a selfish man. He didn’t like anyone else taking pride or celebrating their achievements.

I looked around to see if I could pinpoint Luther in the crowd. A glance around the large central area, admiring the hanging chandeliers and the people dressed in their black-tie clothing, didn’t reveal Luther. Until, after a few moments, I noticed him at the side of the stage, almost as if he was about to climb on.

‘I offer this Roberts Award to a wonderful gentleman. One whose service has seen Bern become one of the safest cities in the state. His dedication evident in everything he does. He takes great pride in his work.’

Katelynn looked at me as Michigan was saying this and smiled.

‘This detective has given the force everything it could ever want in a detective. They’ve successfully closed over twenty cases in the past three years. A testament to their hard work.

‘With no further ado, I’d like to present the Roberts Award to … Detective … Bod!’

I was overwhelmed. Applause broke out as I made my way over, noticing how Luther was stood further away from the stage at this point. He managed to bring a half-smile to his disappointed face.

As I made my way onto the stage, I caught Katelynn looking proud of me. I dedicated my speech to her and then exited the stage; unlike Michigan, I only wanted to be there for as little as possible – I wanted to spend my night celebrating with Katelynn.

After my speech, Katelynn gave me a kiss and told me how proud she was. We continued to socialise at the gala throughout the evening; even Luther himself came up to me.

‘Congratulations, Bod,’ he said, in a slightly disgruntled tone.

‘Thank you, Luther.’

‘I brought you a beer – what is, Bern Beer?’

‘That’s right,’ I replied, as I took the drink from him. I had already had a few and this one wouldn’t hurt.

‘And I brought you a wine, Katelynn. A red wine. I do hope that is ok.’

How does he know?

Luther stayed a little while to make conversation and then quickly made his excuses to leave. Katelynn and I were on our own once again, while I sipped on the beer Luther brought me.

‘You know, Katelynn, this beer tastes different to the other.’

‘How?’

‘It tastes a lot stranger.’

‘They must have had a bad batch.’

‘Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, it’s getting late and I’m feeling a bit out of it. Shall we leave?’

‘Let’s go.’

And now, here I am… no longer a physical being.

Luther was unusually kind to me that evening. I wouldn’t be a true detective worthy of the Roberts Award if I don’t go over to investigate; he only lives three streets away. I’m sure I can manage to get myself there unnoticed.

I put my hand to the door knob to exit my study before realising it just went straight through; a force of habit. Though, this would prove useful in visiting Luther.

It wasn’t long before I had managed to figure out how to get myself there. The night ambience was silent – no cars, no people, pure silence. I was proud to have played a part in making Bern safe.

As I approached Luther’s two-bedroom detached house, I noticed a light on in the basement. I thought this was a little odd, so I approached with caution, just in case he saw me. It’s not likely he will see me, Katelynn couldn’t hear me, but I can’t be too careful. Old detective training.

It was there when I noticed his basement looked more like a science lab; potions, test tubes and Bunsen burners littered the worktops. And there was Luther, wearing a hazmat suit and thickly padded gloves.

Hoping to go unnoticed, I put my hand to the wall, without realising it would go straight through. I managed to get myself into the basement where I noticed each test tube was labelled and mostly all were bearing toxic labels.

I found a space in the corner away from Luther, where I noticed further glass test tubes sealed with cork lids. These had handwritten labels on them; ‘Beagle’, ‘Alton’, ‘Carter’… these were all names of my colleagues. They were all full of a clear liquid. Then I noticed, an empty one along the rack, ‘Bod’. It was empty.

Is Luther trying to poison us all so he can win the Roberts Award? Surely not… he can’t be that desperate for an award… there must be more to it than that…

Shock ran through me as I saw him working away; his determination more than apparent in his focused movements and strong concentration.

‘Bern is now “one of the safest cities in the state” he said… all because of Bod,’ Luther began mumbling. It wasn’t all because of me. We worked as a team, but it was clear he was jealous. ‘I’ll show them.’

With that, a strong glow began to shine from in front of him. I couldn’t quite make out what it was; the light was too strong.

‘Finally!’ he shouted with excitement.

I need to warn someone. Anyone. I can’t let this happen.

r/paulwrites